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disaster management News

Wastecorp Pumps has launched the new MS-HW-Recovery, a new pump out plus freshwater distribution system as disasters such as oil spills, floods, hurricanes and overflowing sewers can occur at any time. Government disaster management agencies and contractors can now contain waste water, slurry and oil and provide wash-down services with a single unit. The end user can select a waste-holding tank ...

A new co-operation between the Dutch Kadaster (cadastre) and the topographical services of Nordrhein-Westphalen (Germany) facilitates to detect and act upon disasters like nature fires and floods faster. Emergency services can arrive sooner in this border area. Until now, Germany used a different way of projection for maps compared to The Netherlands. This was confusing for emergency services ...

Waste Management (NYSE: WM) has announced a $50,000 contribution to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to support its efforts in response to the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas, and to serve as aid for any future recoveries. Following the most recent storms, Waste Management was among the first on the ground to aid in the recovery. “These tragic events have impacted ...

European researchers are helping rescue workers and disaster victims by creating innovative clothing from smart fabrics. The clothes can monitor people’s health, identify their location and even detect dangerous chemicals in the atmosphere. Fire fighters, paramedics and rescue workers could soon carry a new weapon into the danger zones with European researchers completing work on smart clothing ...

A ground-breaking alliance between the United Nations and insurance companies from across the globe today launched a drive to tackle natural disaster risk by identifying the most effective measures to combat disasters and helping communities implement them. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) Initiative brings together insurers from around ...

One of the first countries to test a new approach to analysing natural disasters reported its initial findings at a major conference on disaster risk reduction in China last week (31 October–2 November). Japan used the Forensic Investigations of Disaster (FORIN) methodology, developed by the ...

"It will never happen here." It's a statement we hear far too often, and can be an excuse for inaction that results in widespread misery and incalculable financial losses when disaster does strike. Few would have imagined a modern bustling city such as Bangkok waste deep in putrid sewage with overflowing rivers threatening cultural and historical treasures and bringing the city's thriving ...

Earthquake science was not on trial in Italy — it was about inadequate information and participation in decision-making, says Carina Fearnley. The prison sentences for manslaughter given to six Italian scientists and one government official last week have led to an outpouring of outrage. The media have echoed the anger of numerous scientists that ...

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday. Citing official U.S. figures, he said the state of California, the world's fifth largest economy, 'could see prime farmland reduced to a dustbowl, and major cities running out of water by the end of the century'. Blaming it on the negative impact of global warming, he said that climate is changing - globally. He quoted scientists as saying that by ...

From fires and earthquakes to pandemics, businesses and other organizations may become the victims of disaster at any time. In order to deal with the unexpected and safeguard the interests of their stakeholders, as well as their reputation, brand and value-creating activities, a new ISO/IEC International Standard will help them mitigate risks and be prepared to respond to crises. ...

Tackling disasters such as floods and droughts should focus much more on the sustainable use and restoration of ecosystems such as wetlands, states NGO Wetlands International in the run-up to the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction where governments will conclude a new ...

Playing games is helping to engage communities with the complex scientific information used to forecast natural disasters, as well as encouraging people to take steps to mitigate future risks, experts say. Tools ranging from simple ...

Jakarta, Indonesia (ENS) – On an official visit this week to the island nation of Indonesia, Linda Lingle, governor of America's only island state, Hawaii, has struck a partnership that will help both governments deal with natural disasters such as the deadly tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004. Governor Lingle and Indonesia's Minister of Defense Dr. Juwono Sudarsono Monday announced a National ...

When disaster threatens, the first hours are crucial. European researchers have developed an automated system to provide early detection, forecasting, and warning of natural disasters such as floods and wildfires. Floods, forest fires, and other natural disasters take lives, harm the environment, and cause billions of euros of damage every year – €50 billion worldwide in 2007 alone. The EU-funded ...

By Pieter van Eijk Enormous logs float by while we navigate the Agusan river on Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines. A silent testimony of decades of ravaging sawmills and chainsaws that denuded most of the archipelago's once virgin hill slopes. The noisy motor of our boat stirs up a deeply brown-coloured mixture of water and sediment. Two decades ...

The number and impacts of disasters have increased in Europe in the period 1998-2009, a new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) concludes. The report assesses the frequency of disasters and their impacts on humans, the economy and ecosystems and calls for better integrated risk disaster management across Europe. The Agency's new report ' ...

Last week, a team of space experts led by British company DMCii participated in a national flooding exercise, "Exercise Watermark", to determine how satellite imagery, satellite communications and satellite navigation could be used to improve UK emergency response. The team represented an ongoing project funded via the UK's Technology Strategy Board (TSB) as part of its contribution to the ...

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 14 metropolitan areas along the US-Mexico border suffer from 'abysmal air and water quality' as well as a host of other unacceptable environmental hazards. Last week, governors from Mexican and American states along the border were hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to discuss these and other environmental issues of ...

President Bush has approved Nevada's request for a major disaster declaration for Lyon County. This declaration provides federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe winter storms and flooding. The storms caused a rupture in a levee near the California border that sent water gushing into the town of Fernley. The flood cut off as many as 400 homes and ...

It"s very easy to pile onto BP right now. The "accident," which may be due more to negligence, is bad enough. The company lost 11 employees - after losing 15 in a high-profile explosion at a refinery 5 years ago. The damage to the Gulf, its species, and the people who depend on it is almost incalculable. But surprisingly, it"s even easier to criticize BP"s behavior since the explosion - the ...

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